The present invention relates in general to firearms and pertains, more particularly, to an improved cylinder and barrel construction adapted to reduce the stress on the throat of a revolver barrel. The improved construction of this invention is characterized by improved strength of the cylinder and barrel configuration along with increased accuracy of the firearm.
In the firearms field, Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manfacturers Institute, Inc. (SAAMI) has standards that recommend certain minimum chamber and barrel parameters corresponding to maximum cartridge parameters. In the firearms industry commercial bullets are typically made of lead or a combination of lead with a thin jacket. When the bullet is fired from the cylinder chamber the bullet tends to increase in size upon exit from the cylinder and is typically resized by the throat of the barrel. In a revolver with multiple chambers in the cylinder, the barrel throat experiences many more pressure cycles than the individual cylinder chambers. In addition to the pressure cycle, the barrel throat is subject to the impact and sizing loads from the passage of the bullet from the cylinder into the throat of the barrel. The problem is further aggravated by the high pressures of Magnum cartridges and the introduction of heavier bullets by handloaders, for example, who use such bullets in silhouette type shooting in which steel plates configured to various animal shapes are to be knocked down at relatively long ranges. Also, in a revolver with heavy recoil characteristics, the reduced cylinder bore prevents the bullet from working forward out of the cartridge case. It is not desirable to have the bullet work forward out of the cartridge case because in doing so it will protrude from the front of the cylinder and prevent continued firing.
Accordingly, one object of the present invention is to provide an improved cylinder and barrel construction of improved strength.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved cylinder and barrel construction wherein the bullet is retained within the cylinder until the moment of firing.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved cylinder and barrel construction adapted for providing improved accuracy of the firearm.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved firearm construction in which the jump distance from the cylinder to the barrel throat is minimized. This has the effect of decreasing the length of travel within which the bullet may increase in size and at the same time also permits an increase in the wall thickness of the barrel.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved barrel and cylinder construction characterized by a sizing of the bullet at a lower velocity level during its acceleration causing less bullet deformation.
Still a further object of the present invention is to provide an improved barrel and cylinder construction characterized by improved accuracy and increased barrel strength.